Have you ever thought of the legal aftermath you will be faced with if you are ever forced to use lethal force to defend yourself? Many people fail to consider, and prepare for the time if they may be arrested…even if you feel your actions were justified? What if you were in imminent fear of death or great bodily harm? After the use of deadly force incident, there is a very good chance of you being arrested and taken to jail, even if you were lawfully defending yourself.
If you have just endured a self-defense incident, it is safe to say you can expect to be arrested. Keep in mind being arrested and being charged with a crime are not the same thing, even though most times they do go hand in hand. If you are being arrested that does not necessarily mean you will be charged with a crime. Here at Firearms Legal Protection, we have seen it many times where the GOOD GUY is taken to jail and even charged with a crime after defending themselves or their family. Once you are charged with a crime you will then have an arraignment, a court proceeding in which you are formally charged with the crime you are alleged to have committed. At this time, the defendant will plead guilty or not guilty to the charges. Pretrial dates and motions may be scheduled, trial dates may be set, and in most cases, this is also where the judge or magistrate will set bail.
Bail is something you give to the Court to ensure you will return for all court hearings. This could range from giving something such as your word (known commonly as a release on your own recognizance) all the way up to money or property in some parts of the country. It is up to the judge to decide the amount of the bail and the conditions in which the defendant will be under while released on bail. Judges typically base their decision on factors such as the person’s ties to the community, the seriousness of the charged crime, and is the person a flight risk.
Bail is set to ensure the accused will come back to court to appear for future court dates, appearances, trials, etc. Judges may set other conditions as a part of Bond that can affect your everyday life. Some examples of conditions may include things such as you may not be able to leave the State without permission of the Court, you may not be able to have firearms in your possession, no contact orders with witnesses and victims. Your conditions will depend not only on the severity of the crime but on how big of a flight risk the court determines you are. Do you have community ties? Children? A Job? All of these things will be taken into consideration to help the Court decide if the bail should be set, and if so under what circumstances.
Typically, once a bond amount is set the defendant will only be responsible to pay the premium on that bond, which is only a percentage. States like Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, Alabama, and Indiana have a 10% premium. So, if bail is set at $50,000, you will be responsible to pay $5,000 if your state requires a 10% premium. Most states have licensed bail bondsmen that could help you bond out if cannot come up with the funds to get you out of jail. The bail bondsmen may place different restrictions on you over and above the Court to ensure your appearance for your court dates.
While no one knows the day or time that they will have to use a legal weapon to defend themselves or others, you can still be prepared to handle the Legal Aftermath. The stress of trying to pay for both an attorney and bail is enough to drain anyone emotionally, and financially. Firearms Legal Protection understands that not everybody has a savings account titled “Just in case I go to Jail”. Having Firearms Legal Protection, you won’t have that worry should you ever find yourself in the legal aftermath of Self-Defense. Not only does Firearms Legal Protection take care of you with uncapped attorney’s fees, but a bail bond is also provided as well up to $250,000 in our premium or family membership plans. Upgrade or sign up today and have the peace of mind of knowing that if you Protect yourself, We’ll Protect you.
